US President Donald Trump said on Monday that Washington would supply weapons to Ukraine, with European nations covering all the costs. He called it a "very big deal" with "billions of dollars worth of military equipment" to be purchased from the US. The president also said that the military aid would include Patriot air defense systems with all the weapon's components.
"I know our industry can and will sell to allies, but there are already delivery backlogs on most weapons so these deals will either jump to the top of the list or they will have to wait a couple years for delivery," the anonymous US official was quoted as saying by Politico.
The United States will not be able to supply Ukraine with Patriot air defense systems in the foreseeable future due to severe shortages of these weapons, the Military Watch Magazine reported. Shortages of Patriot air defense interceptors from earlier deliveries to Ukraine were exacerbated by an Iranian missile strike on the US Al-Udeid base in Qatar. US plans to replenish US army reserves are expected to take priority over Ukraine's needs.
Russia has repeatedly said that Western arms supplies to Ukraine hinder the resolution of the military conflict and involve NATO countries in the crisis. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned that any cargo containing weapons for Ukraine will be a legitimate target for the Russian military.